contumacy
Americannoun
noun
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obstinate and wilful rebelliousness or resistance to authority; insubordination; disobedience
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the wilful refusal of a person to appear before a court or to comply with a court order
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of contumacy
1150–1200; Middle English contumacie < Latin contumācia, equivalent to contumāc-, stem of contumāx unyielding, stubborn ( con- con- + -tum- of uncertain sense, though connected by classical authors with both contemnere to regard with contempt and tumēre to swell) + -āx adj. suffix) + -ia -ia
Vocabulary lists containing contumacy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She was "busted" out of Bryn Mawr for "deplorable contumacy of conduct."
From Time Magazine Archive
"This is the most outrageous case of contumacy I have ever seen," bellowed Lawyer Rogge, obtaining a recess until March 20.
From Time Magazine Archive
Shelley and Sir William Sirs: Shelley was dismissed for contumacy.
From Time Magazine Archive
On the contrary, as if from sheer perverseness and contumacy, the evil, if anything, was rather increased.
From Quodlibet by Kennedy, John Pendleton
The captive, unless he excites suspicion by his conduct, or exhibits peculiar contumacy, is left with no other restraint than his own free will.
From The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada by Parkman, Francis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
